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So it's autumn. I like autumn. It smells nice and looks pretty and the ground is covered in crunchy leaves that are really satisfying to step on. Autumn has Halloween, and that whole fall back Day Light Savings Time thingermajig means I get an extra hour of sleep. It's not too hot, not too cold. It's just right. I guess you could say that it's my favourite season. So much better than spring (smells like dog doo), summer (too humid and sticky), or winter (nuff said).
My one beef with autum is that it always seems to cause a major bout of writer's block. Okay, okay. I know I said that I don't believe in writer's block, and I don't. But during the fall, I sort of do deep down inside. Just like at Christmas, a part of me still hopes there's such a thing as Santa Claus. Hence my annual disappointment and severe bah humbugness.
Let me get a teensy bit serious here. Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all after school special on your ass. Inhale. My name is Sarah-Jane and I have chronic depression. Exhale. See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Not much of a confession really, because it's not like I keep it a secret. I'm cool with my mental illness. In fact, I think that it helps me craft my stories. Actually, I've noticed that most writers I know also seem to have some sort of mental illness. Or maybe just most people in general have mental illnesses. Whatever. Point being is that I cope with my issues pretty well, considering.
Except that in the autumn, my depression gets ten times worse. Maybe it has to do with the amount of sunlight and that whole seasonal affective disorder thing. I've never been diagnosed with S.A.D., but it appears to be a constant trend so I feel confident saying that I most likely have that too. Plus, I'm a genius, so I know don't need no quack to tell me anything. I'm just that awesome.
Anyway, during the fall, my writing takes a nose dive. Noticed the lack of posts these past couple of months? That's cause I'd rather mope around, complaining about how I can't get into the zone. Plus, this time of year my whole "everything is crap! I'm such a hack!" phase goes into overdrive. This blog post so far? Absolute crap! Argh!!
That's why I'm happy that through the magic of Twitter (thanks, Skyla!), I've discovered a marvellous tool called Write or Die. I'm not a big fan of reiteration, so if you wanna know what WoD is, clickity click the link. Basically, it tries to turn you into Pavlov's dog. Or Dory. Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing.
The problem with WoD...you should see how bad the first draft is. Seriously. It makes my inner editor cry. I'm the sort of writer who has to obsess over every line and get it juuuuuuust right before I can move on to the next. So WoD really takes me out of my comfort zone. Which is good, I guess.
My second problem with WoD is that, towards the end, I tend to run out of steam and plop a bunch of nonsense down to bump up my word count. Here's an excerpt from the other day: "And then some more stuff happens. And he leaves. And she stays there and yadda yadda blah. Blah blah, I'm trying to get to one thousand words here. Yep. One thousand words. Look at them words. Ain't they pretty. And the scene is pretty much over, but I'm still writing words here because I'm trying to get to one thousand words."
Magnifique! A true masterpiece. Sigh. It's crap. I know it's crap, and that's not just my depression talking. But it's crap that I've gotten out of my head and down on paper. Sort of. And thanks to the wonders of editing, I can eventually turn it into something that is slightly less of the poo persuasion. So yay me! And yay Write or Die! And yay for editing!
That's an awful lot of yays for a depressed person. Ahem. People suck. I hate the world. I just want to crawl into a hole and die. Yeah, that's more like it. Now that sounds like something I would say.
On the same day I received a form rejection for one story, I received an acceptance for another.
The Warmth, a piece of horror flash fiction, will be up October 15, 2009 on Everyday Weirdness.
And now I'm off to try to find homes for my last two completed short stories, Confession and Goodbye Mama. And then maybe I'll try to write something new instead of just obsessively editing stuff I wrote over a month ago. Haha! I'm so funny!
The days are flying by lately. I have a sudden urge to start singing Landslide. Don't worry. I won't. I'm evil, but subjecting another human being to my singing voice is just too taboo even for me. Trust me.
As you may know, I'm getting a novel published next spring. Wee, I never get tired of saying that! Anyway, since I was accepted, I've been researching how to effectively promote myself and my book. I actually think I've over researched because now I am in a deer-caught-in-the-headlights sort of state of mind.
One thing that every source I've consulted agrees upon is the importance of social networking. It's also cheap and anyone with a computer can do it. But doing it effectively is the point I'm having trouble with.
I've done the basics. I've got this blog, Facebook, MySpace, and (shudder) even Twitter. I've learned a lot about the difference between a having a huge contact list and an effective contact list. Like Mundania Press says, spamming is not the answer. Which is why I'm learning to get stricter on who I accept as a friend/follower and who I decide to friend/follow.
I've also learned that as important as social networking is to my career, if it takes away time that could be better spent actually, you know, WRITING, then it does more harm than good. I'm learning to limit myself to the number of networking sites I join up for as well as the amount of time I spend on each of them.
Notice I keep saying "learning." At this point in time, I have no idea how successful my forays into social networking will be. That will have to wait until my book actually hits the shelves (Spring 2010! Buy ten copies or die!). After which, I can further tweak my strategy so that when my second book hits the shelves (Fall 2010!) I'll have a better idea of what works and what doesn't.
So in my quest for the perfect marketing plan, perhaps my fellow writers would care to share what works for them. What sites are the best? How many do you use? How do you turn a potential procrastination haven into a useful way to promote and market your novels?
I can't believe it's already September. What the eff happened to summer? I don't know what it was like in your neck of the woods, but round these parts there has been nothing but rain, rain and more rain. Uber fun if you're a duck.
Just a few quick updates before I gotta get ready for my day job. (Le sigh! Still patron-less, dammit!)
First and foremost, I've done made some slight alterations to my website, mostly to get rid of all the flash. It just wasn't working on some computers, and that irked the hell out of me. When designing a website, it should be as accessible as possible. Fancy bells and whistles are all well and good, except when they make someone's browser freeze! There's my helpful tip for the day. You may now offer me your thanks. Preferably in chocolate form.
Second, my first in-print story (Madness and the Moon) will be available from Sonar 4 Publications. I expect everyone to buy a copy and rave about how amazing I am. I also expect to be named Queen of the Universe by the end of the weekend. Get on that for me, would ya?
And lastly, I'm trying my hand at editing romance novels. So far, so good. I'm not sure if this is something I'll want to do on a regular basis, but it does give me good practice, great experience and a little extra cash. But have no fear! It doesn't mean I'm about to spew hearts and flowers all over my own writing. If anything it makes me want to add more guts and gore.
Oh, which reminds me. Did you know that there is such a book as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Why was I not informed of this sooner? Heads will roll!
Just a little announcement to let everyone know that my short story, Trust Me, is now online in the latest issue of Bewildering Stories. Clickity click to read!
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